Walter Mitty

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT WALTER MITTY - PAGE 4

When the 40th annual June Sprints get rolling next month at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., more than 400 drivers will vie for checkered flags. As the second largest and the longest continuously run amateur race in the U.S., the Sprints have drawn drivers from the East Coast to California and from Europe. But those orchestrating the event will represent a much wider range of people. Plumbers and lawyers, doctors and salespeople, waitresses and teachers, laborers and college students will come together to indulge their passion for motor sports.

Ken Englund, a Chicago-born film and television writer whose credits included the screenplay for "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," died Tuesday in the Motion Picture and Television Fund Hospital in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills. Mr. Englund, 79, had lived in the hospital's long-term care facility since suffering a stroke in 1985, said his daughter, Patricia Englund Lefferts. He was born and reared in Chicago. As a youngster, he contributed jokes to college humor magazines.

Ben Stiller will receive the 26th American Cinematheque Award at the org's benefit ceremony Nov. 15. "Stiller is already a renaissance man of comedy and he's going to be sharing his talents with us for years to come," American Cinematheque chairman Rick Nicita said. Selected by the Cinematheque's Board of Directors, Stiller is in production on "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," which he is directing and starring in. Recent honorees include Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon and Samuel L. Jackson.

It had to end sometime. " Frozen 's" streak atop the home video sales charts came to an end the week ended May 18, as Lionsgate's "I, Frankenstein" emerged to top both the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert chart, which tracks combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc sales, as well as its dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart. The Disney blockbuster dropped to No. 2 for the week, selling 86.5% as many copies as the fantasy-horror hybrid. Frozen had topped both sales charts the previous four weeks and seven of the eight weeks since its release in March.

Among other honors they have racked up, " American Hustle ," " Her " and " Nebraska " can add the inaugural Location Managers Guild of America Awards. The other nominees in this categories are scouts for "Iron Man 3" and "Saving Mr. Banks." Among TV programs, location managers for " Game of Thrones ," " House of Cards ," "Breaking Bad," "Behind the Candelabra" and " Scandal " were nominated. "We are ecstatic with our nominees," said guild president Nancy Haecker.

By Andrea Burzynski NEW YORK, Dec 26 (Reuters) - The holiday season's new films drew crowds of people to theaters on Wednesday to make it the second highest-grossing Christmas Day on record for the U.S. and Canadian box office, according to estimates from box office tracking site Rentrak. Yesterday's box office haul was estimated at between $76.5 and $78 million, topping 2012's $74.9 million Christmas day earnings. It was led by the Tolkien-based "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," which took in $9.3 million for a total of $149.9 million since its opening on December 13. "The Wolf of Wall Street" was right behind with $9.2 million on its first day in theaters.

Fox didn't win any friends with journalists Thursday during the TV press tour, when the network couldn't produce preview tapes for some of its big fall shows. Still, executives Peter Roth and David Hill were able to get the message out that Fox was going to get a head start on the competition by launching its new schedule early, on Sept. 8, with the season premiere of "Melrose Place" and the debut of David E. Kelley's "Ally McBeal," a series that "dares to take you into the mind of a woman."

Why can`t some people just grow up? In a time of speeding jets and four-lane highways, there remains a strong cluster of dreamers who would rather be chugging along the tracks. Over the next six months, the 20th Century Railroad Club in Chicago will sponsor several trips, beginning with a run to Holland, Mich., on Saturday for the Tulip Time Festival. Although most of the seats are taken, Stan Brandt, the club president, said some platform tickets may still be available. Other trips will be July 29-30 to Oshkosh, Wis., and trips Oct. 7, 8 and 14 to Galena.

David Andrews has joined the cast of the Lionsgate's "Jessabelle." Sarah Snook, Mark Webber, Ana de la Reguera and Brian Hallisay also star. Andrews can be seen next in Par's "World War Z." Ron Yuan has joined the cast of CBS drama pilot "Golden Boy." He'll also be seen in an upcoming arc on Fox's "Touch." Hannah Zeile has landed a recurring role on FX's "Anger Management" starring Charlie Sheen. She'll play the best friend of Sheen's daughter. Terence Bernie Hines has joined the cast of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" starring Ben Stiller.

Twentieth Century Fox has pushed Steven Spielberg's "Robopocalypse" back a year, moving the pic from July 3, 2013 to April 25, 2014. Studio also announced that it will release a 3D version of Roland Emmerich's 1996's "Independence Day" on July 3, 2013. Fox has also set "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" for Memorial Day (May 23) 2014. "Dawn" follows Rupert Wyatt's 2011 "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." Fox announced that it will unspool the next installment in its "X-Men" franchise on July 18, 2014.